Drew Brees: Pace of talks not hurting Saints

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Drew Brees: Pace of talks not hurting Saints
NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees asserts that his contract talks with the Saints haven’t hampered the club’s ability to acquire top free agents this offseason because he is committed to negotiating an ...

NEW ORLEANS — Drew Brees asserts that his contract talks with the Saints haven’t hampered the club’s ability to acquire top free agents this offseason because he is committed to negotiating an extension that would improve the Saints’ financial flexibility.

The quarterback said in an interview with the Associated Press that he was “on board” with New Orleans’ recent bid to sign former Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, who decided to play instead for Washington, signing a five-year deal with the Redskins worth up to $75 million. Brees dismissed the notion that uncertainty surrounding his own contract undermined New Orleans’ ability to compete for Norman’s services.

“We all understand that’s not the case,” Brees said. “He went to Washington as his first visit. And if you know anything about free agency, usually, that’s the visit where, once you’re in that office, the deal’s getting done and Washington is a place where, historically, you’d say Washington’s got the deepest pockets.

“From my perspective, we made a pretty strong push to try to get him and obviously I was on board 100 percent and willing to do whatever we needed to do,” Brees added.

...

“Do I want to sign an extension? Yes, I do. Do the Saints feel that way? Yes. Do the fans feel that way? Yes. So we all agree on that,” Brees said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, is sign an extension that would not only keep me there but also reallocate money so that it opens cap room in various ways that would kind of fit the team and what we need. ... So I would say we’re all being pro-active in that way.

“There’s no timeline or deadline to this. It’s very open-ended,” Brees added.

“Maybe once the draft occurs and now you’ve got kind of all the pieces in place that you feel like, this is what we need and this is our team moving forward, then you’re in a better position to predict the cap for this year, next year and so forth.”

It hasn't hampered our ability to acquire free agents this off season? All the top players are off the market now. I can't say I have the utmost confidence in our front office to make good decisions in free agency, but without a deal being reached with Drew, it doesn't exactly open up any opportunities. Is there any reason to rush NOW? No, obviously not. But to say it didn't hurt anything by not getting it done sooner is not accurate. I love Drew, but that's just a convenient thing for him to say, at this point.

I'm not really angry about his contract situation, but I do take exception to this particular comment by him.

It hasn't hampered our ability to acquire free agents this off season? All the top players are off the market now. I can't say I have the utmost confidence in our front office to make good decisions in free agency, but without a deal being reached with Drew, it doesn't exactly open up any opportunities. Is there any reason to rush NOW? No, obviously not. But to say it didn't hurt anything by not getting it done sooner is not accurate. I love Drew, but that's just a convenient thing for him to say, at this point.

I'm not really angry about his contract situation, but I do take exception to this particular comment by him.

Name one top free agent that we were not able to get that the front office was interested in. And don't say Josh Norman because he settled with his very first contact, the Redskins, and never even gave the Saints a chance.

What you fail to comprehend is that the basics of a deal are already in place with Brees. The final amount of cap space required is the only piece remaining and that will not be known until after the draft. They could have easily made a deal with Norman, or for that fact, any other free agent.

What are you calling BS on? Surely not what Brees said. The front office and Brees both have repeatedly stated that an extension was going to get done. The point is there is no reason to do it before it is needed.

Free Agency is essentially done, it makes no sense to extend Brees at this time, none whatsoever...

Let him play the season out with two possible outcomes...

If Brees and Saints have a stand-out season, Condon and Brees are going to insist that Brees is highest paid quarterback anyways...

Should Brees aging continue to accelerate and he breaks down, then you and the coaching staff have faced the reality that all good things must end and it's time to move on...

No sense to extend? If Brees and the Saints have a standout season, Condon will be able to hold it over the Saints heads. They will not be able to make as good a deal as they could have with an earlier extension.

Secondly, they know Brees and his body much better than any of us and if they agree with Brees and feel he definitely has several more years of production left, forgoing an extension would be idiotic.

Name one top free agent that we were not able to get that the front office was interested in. And don't say Josh Norman because he settled with his very first contact, the Redskins, and never even gave the Saints a chance.

What you fail to comprehend is that the basics of a deal are already in place with Brees. The final amount of cap space required is the only piece remaining and that will not be known until after the draft. They could have easily made a deal with Norman, or for that fact, any other free agent.

Any free agent who has the potential to make a significant impact is of interest. How often does the team come out and say who they are interested in? What would be the point of that?

And I don't really care about the Norman thing, because he isn't worth the money he got. Not when compared to this team's overall needs. But I'm curious. On what authority do you think you know that he never gave the Saints a chance? I'm sure he gave them a chance, and his number was too high. That's not difficult to comprehend. I'm glad the Saints didn't give in to his demands.

What YOU fail to comprehend, ole friend, is that I have never stated that a deal wouldn't get done, or that one was not in place. I have no idea if one is in place, and neither do you. But if one is indeed in place, which it could be, then I do not agree with the approach of waiting til after the draft. I've already outlined the reasons why.

I'm sure you'll be telling me that it doesn't matter what I think. So let me get out ahead of you, and remind you that this forum is for discussion, and every single person here understands that our opinions are not, and never will be under consideration by management. Most of us have seen enough football to recognize what kind of philosophies work. We've seen teams fail miserably with certain plans, and succeed with others. That's how we form our opinions. The fact that I disagree with something does not make me ignorant of it. You have a hard time understanding that.

Any free agent who has the potential to make a significant impact is of interest. How often does the team come out and say who they are interested in? What would be the point of that?

And I don't really care about the Norman thing, because he isn't worth the money he got. Not when compared to this team's overall needs. But I'm curious. On what authority do you think you know that he never gave the Saints a chance? I'm sure he gave them a chance, and his number was too high. That's not difficult to comprehend. I'm glad the Saints didn't give in to his demands.

What YOU fail to comprehend, ole friend, is that I have never stated that a deal wouldn't get done, or that one was not in place. I have no idea if one is in place, and neither do you. But if one is indeed in place, which it could be, then I do not agree with the approach of waiting til after the draft. I've already outlined the reasons why.

I'm sure you'll be telling me that it doesn't matter what I think. So let me get out ahead of you, and remind you that this forum is for discussion, and every single person here understands that our opinions are not, and never will be under consideration by management. Most of us have seen enough football to recognize what kind of philosophies work. We've seen teams fail miserably with certain plans, and succeed with others. That's how we form our opinions. The fact that I disagree with something does not make me ignorant of it. You have a hard time understanding that.

The fact that Payton had a discussion with Brees about the extension when Norman first came available meant Brees was not the reason Norman isn't a Saint. The Saints, and everyone else, had an idea of what it would take to get a deal done, but nothing has a chance of getting done without meeting face to face. The ONLY franchise that Norman gave that chance to was the Redskins, therefore, he never even gave the Saints, or any others, a chance.

I never said you personally didn't think a deal would be made with Brees. As I pointed out, that was directed more at others. But, I see no advantage whatsoever of finalizing the deal (if already agreed to in principle as I fully believe) until every single factor of cap space requirements for the 2016 season are known. The ONLY reason to do so before the draft is over is if it is required to make a free agency move. To this point that has not been necessary.